Talofa lava! Leading on from our topic of the Commonwealth Games, each junior classroom has chosen a country to learn more about that is part of the Commonwealth. Room 2 has chosen Sāmoa! We have been learning about the language, celebrations, food, flag, art, dance and music that represents this Commonwealth county.

Over the last few weeks Room 2 has taken a journey to the islands of Sāmoa! I have been so impressed by the curiosity, questions and wonderings of the tamariki which have informed our journey through the Sāmoan culture. 

Room 2 have looked closely at the Sāmoan flag investigating what the colours and symbols represent. We have tried a traditional Sāmoan bread called fa'apapa bread which is made from only four ingredients (the tamariki couldn't believe this!). We loved the experience of trying something new. 

“It looks tasty” - Riley.     “I love it!!!” - Lucy.     

“The texture is yum!” - Elliot.     “It’s crunchy!” - Maddison.

We looked at the art of Sāmoa and the significance of Siapo (tapa cloth). We learnt about the different patterns and what they represent. The tamariki were really surprised to discover that a Siapo is made from the bark of a mulberry tree. We made our own class Siapo from brown paper, crayon and dye. It is a collaborative piece of art and is displayed in the classroom if you would like to come have a look at our masterpiece! 

The next stop on our cultural journey through Sāmoa was looking at a celebration. We read stories and watched videos of a significant celebration called White Sunday. White Sunday is the celebration of children which takes place on the second Sunday of October. Children and their families sing songs, dance, eat delicious food and wear white! We enjoyed trying on a white lava lava and shirt and talking about how the food is cooked in an umu (above ground oven).

We had a Year 6 student Nathan come and visit us to tell us stories about his time in Sāmoa and teach us greetings in the Sāmoan language. The tamariki loved being able to ask Nathan questions about life in Sāmoa and also sharing with him all of their new knowledge! 

We have our learning about Sāmoa displayed in Room 2, come have a look next time you are in the classroom. 

Fa fe tai (Thank you)